The New Hive Power
by Nightstrike99
Summary: The story follows a Warlock, Michael, on his quest to destroy the new Hive power that plagues the light.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Second Battle of the Twilight Gap

There I stood. There WE stood. The tower received reports of an impending assault by the hive and called for any available guardians to make their way to the defense of the twilight gap. There was just a handful of guardians that were able to respond fast enough to take the full brunt of the hive assault. I stood on a ridge overlooking the twilight gap and the Cosmodrone that stretched as far as the eye could see. I looked down at the other guardians that were on the lower levels. There were about 20 of us. Some looked nervous, some looked tense, but everybody looked ready to lay down their lives for the defense of the city. I looked out to the Cosmodrome. Being a warlock, it was natural for me to ask myself how the hive are able to assault the tower. The hive would never try an all-out assault. Not unless they have performed some sort of ritual or something that would allow them to besiege the city, and win. Then my thoughts were interrupted as the sky burst open. Dozens of hive ships appeared from the sky and fired their cannons. A few guardians were hit, but they were revived by their ghost not long after. I ran for cover. I could hear gunshots going off and explosions across the twilight gap. A hive ship appeared above me and opened fire. Two purple balls of energy were seeking towards me. I slid behind a wall and I heard two near explosions. I looked around the wall and saw the ship unloading troops onto the ridge that I was on. The ship fired again and the two more balls of energy came towards me. I heard the ship take off and slip back to wherever it came from, and shortly after the two balls of energy fired at me exploded. I reached for my weapon, the feared thorn. It is a weapon of sorrow that was once wielded by the infamous Dredgen Yor. Rounds of fire from hive acolytes began hitting my cover. I could hear thralls running towards me, trying to force me out of my cover. I peeked out of the side of the wall and fired rounds into the charging mass of thralls, my bullets piercing through the group. Some thralls died with the damage from the bullet, others fell dead from my weapon devouring them. I was able to sway away the group of thralls, but hive knights and wizards fired on my position. I returned fire. Behind them I saw a gathering mass of dark energy and then a hive wizard emerged. This wizard was different. It had ceremonial robes and seemed to embody the dark that was so coveted by the hive. My ghost instantly came on my comms, " this whole area is now a darkness zone, I can't revive if you die. Oh, and it's also probably because of that wizard." "This is bad", I said out loud. I retreated back to the wall. A plan. I need a plan. I looked back to the other guardians and saw one getting shot down. The guardian's ghost could not revive him. We're losing numbers. I need to destroy the wizard in order to give us any sort of chance to win the battle. However, I would be killed before I even got close to it. There were too many hive protecting it. New ships were flying through the sky. They were guardian ships. New guardians were arriving at the twilight gap, two of them landed near me. It was a male titan and a female hunter. Reinforcements were showing up, but for every guardian that appeared, another was being killed. The recently arrived guardians opened fire on the hive who were protecting the wizard. This is good covering fire. I ran out of the safety of my cover and ran towards the hive position. Bullets whizzed by me, and a few rounds hit me, but I kept on running. I blinked into the air and then the world seemed as if it slowed down. I could feel the void energy rising up through my body and concentrating in my palm. I moved my right arm back and let the energy gather. I pushed my arm and palm forward and released all that energy into a nova bomb that was heading straight for the hive and the dreadful wizard. Then, unexpectedly the wizard launched a similar attack right back at me. My nova bomb went halfway to the hive position when it met the wizard's dark strike. There was a massive explosion of energy that blasted me right into the ground. My shields were gone, but all the hive that I intended to use the nova bomb on seemed to have died in the explosion. I relaxed a bit. I was in pain but at least the wizard is gone. We could still win the battle. I looked backed up at the smoke that covered the area. I looked closely and I saw a shape, and it seemed to be moving towards me. The wizard emerged from the smoke and floated right towards me. My arm was fractured and I couldn't lift the thorn to defend myself. I raised my left arm to unleash a devastating void melee attack but the wizard grabbed my arm. Its rigid hands were very cold and seemed to be just bone. It's dark beady eyes focused on my helmet. It seemed to be looking right at my eyes. With its free arm the wizard touched my helmet. I entered a vision. There I stood. On top of ash. I looked down and saw the lifeless bodies of guardians scattered throughout the scorched floor. I had an epiphany. I was standing on what remained of the Last City of Earth. Nothing remained but ash. Had I killed all these guardian? Had I destroyed the last city of Earth? I turned around and to my side were the hive. "You and I are not that different." The voice belonged to the wizard who was in my head. "We seek power, power that nobody else understands." I struggled... " No, I am a warrior of light! I will never betray the light!" The dark scrappy voice of the wizard once again spoke, "You are a dead thing made by a dead power. All you will ever do is kill." "No!" I yelled, "You seek to deceive me foul wizard, I will never betray the light." " You may never betray the light, but the light will betray you." Then the vision ended and the wizard took its hand away from my helmet. I returned to reality in a daze. Then, the sound of a sniper rifle rang throughout the air as the bullet pierced the head of the wizard. The wizard disintegrated before it even hit the ground. Then, the titan and the hunter came to my aid.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Battle Rages On

The titan put up his protective ward of dawn with the hunter, himself and I in it. Although the wizard was dead, there was still heavy darkness in the area. My ghost attempted to heal my wounds with the light. My ghost spoke as it struggled to summon any light. "The wizard left some sort of hex that's interfering with my ability to use the light. There's not much I can do." The titan looked around nervously. "That wizard was leading the assault on the Twilight Gap. It has corrupted the entire area with pure darkness. Our ghosts cannot yet help us."

I sat up and wondered what that vision was. I couldn't concentrate. The ward of dawn was hit with a barrage of fire from hive soldiers. "The ward of dawn won't last forever warlock." "Yes, I know titan" I replied. "But I'm afraid that with my arm injured as it is, I won't last very long out there." The titan looked away. It seemed as if he was contemplating whether to leave me to my faith or stay as long as he could. The hunter kneeled on one knee. She sported the Crest of Alpha Lupi. Her helmet was gold. Her long hood was white with a golden wolf on it. "Try to stay as still as possible. I learned this whilst leading a group to the tower." She grabbed my arm by my elbow and my wrist. "Hey, wait a- GAH!" She set my arm back in place. I struggled to keep the pain under control. "That wasn't so bad was it?" said the hunter. "No" I said with a very painful tone.

The hunter stepped back and readied her weapon. The titan turned back around. He looked like a knight himself. His helmet was t-shaped and his weapon held the largest bayonet that I have ever seen. He picked me up. "Listen warlock, if we don't do something quickly, the twilight gap will fall. I say we charge right at the enemy lines to give a chance for the other guardians to regroup." "That's suicide" said the hunter. "We can provide fire support from here." "That's just like the hunters. Always cowards and shying away from battle!" Replied the titan rudely. "Excuse me!" Said the hunter furiously. "Have you forgotten that you can no longer be revived? Our numbers are already dwindling as is! We need to play this safe!" As the titan and the hunter argued, a massive hive ship broke the sky and came over the battlefield.

The hunter and titan immediately stopped talking. It seemed as if the entire battle seemed to stop. The massive ship eclipsed the sun. The hive soldiers still remaining bowed and one knee and crossed their arm on their chest. They disappeared from the battle. Just as quickly as the hive ship appeared, it opened up another portal in the sky and went out of view as the portal closed. All three of us stepped out of the titan's ward of dawn. The hunter ran off to treat the wounded. The titan slung his weapon on his back and marched down to the lower levels. I walked towards the ridge and looked down at the destruction. The Twilight Gap was hit hard. There were fires breaking out everywhere. I could hear the anguish of the wounded guardians. I could see one guardian, a warlock, kneeling next to another hunter. The warlock hugged the body of the guardian. The ghost of the dead guardian tried everything it could to revive the dead guardian. However, the guardian was all drained of his light. All across the battlefield I could see the ghosts of oh so many dead guardians. The guardian-less ghosts looked at the bodies. There was nothing they could do. In total there were about 150 bodies. This seemed familiar; like Deja Vu. I looked up quickly. "My vision!" I thought out loud. The vision replayed in my head. What did that wizard mean that the light will betray me?

Then suddenly, the intercom came on. It was Commander Zavala. "Guardians, it seems the enemy has retreated from the Twilight Gap. I'm not sure what happened, but it seems the battle is over; for now." My ghost came out of cloaking. "This is a mess... guardian you have been summoned to the hall of guardians. It sounded urgent." "I hope it's something good." I replied with a heavy heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A New Mission

"You want us to what?" I asked in disbelief. "That's right" said Ikora, the warlock vanguard leader, "I want the two of you to find out where that wizard came from. It's unlike any wizard we have ever encountered." "Ha, the most powerful wizard ever ey? It didn't seem so tough when one round from my sniper was enough to put it out of its misery" Scoffed the hunter. "Oh, thanks for that hunter." It seems in all the confusion I forgot to thank her for saving my life. "The names Emma. If we're going to be working together on this mission, we should get to know each other." "Right. My name is Michael." I replied.

Zavala chimed in "Guardians, we need to strike back. This transgression will not go unpunished. We must find where this wizard came from and we need to make sure something like this never happens again. I'm issuing another guardian to your strike team. You may have met him." The titan that I fought alongside to walked into the room. He had his helmet off. He was an exo. His eyes were bright red and he had red paint streaked across his face. "The name is macejin-4. You can call me Mace. "Fitting name considering everything..." said Emma. Of course it had to be the hunters with the comedy remarks.

Cayde-6 spoke. "Listen guys, we need to get to the bottom of this. And I mean that literally. We've traced the wizard's source to the bottom of the summoning pits on the moon. That's where he came from, and that's where you three are going." Zavala spoke again. "The three of you saw that wizard. You know the power it contained. If the hive are summoning wizards this powerful, they must be stopped. One more thing, the speaker would like to talk to each of you. Good luck guardians."

And with that the three of us walked out of the hall of guardians and made our way to the Speakers chamber. Emma spoke up. "Mace, I haven't forgot what you said at the Twilight Gap. Have you got something against hunters?" "Well for starters, hunters do not understand comradeship. They go get themselves killed out in the wild all alone." "Listen Mace," Emma's tone was very aggravated, "I don't know what hunters you are talking about, but I can most certainly hold my own." Emma turned around, refusing to even look at the titan. The titan continued looking straight forward.

I have to say something. We can't work as a fire team like this. "Listen guys, each one of us is great in their own way." Emma and Mace both instantaneously reacted. "Shut Up Michael." Not the way I was hoping our fire team chemistry would be.

After what seemed like ages of awkward silence, we made it to the Speaker's chamber. Mace walked in first, then Emma, then me. "Ahhh the guardians I've heard so much about. I have very importa-" the speakers gaze came upon me. He choked on his words. He moved back. "Is everything okay speaker?" Asked Mace. Emma noticed the speaker could not break his attention off of me. She looked back at me and then back to the speaker. "Is there something wrong?" The speaker breathed in and looked at Emma. "No, everything is fine. As I was saying, that wizard was no ordinary wizard. The wizard was from the ascendant plane of hive. There must be some sort of ritual the hive are using to summon Ascendant Wizards to this plane. You must stop it. Warlock, if you could please leave the room for a second." Leave the room? Why? Did I do something wrong? "Errrr sure, I guess I'll leave".

I walked out of the Speaker's chamber. I slowly made my way to a rail that overlooked the cosmodrome. The vision came back into my head. What did it mean? What did it mean? The vision replayed over and over in my head. I could still hear the wizards voice. "The light will betray you".

"You okay Michael?" I jumped up. "I didn't mean to startle you..." "oh no, I'm fine Emma." Mace spoke up. "We have to depart soon."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Retaliation

We landed on the moon. It was very cold and desolate. Ever since the hive took over the moon, the entire place seemed dead. Mace materialized to my left. Shortly after, Emma appeared to my right. "Are we all set?" I asked. "Just don't get in my way." said Mace with a sinister voice. He called his sparrow and headed for the summoning pits. I let him leave and so did Emma.

I looked at her. Her gold armor reflected in the light. She took her helmet off. She was human after all. Her skin was light toned. Her eyes were hazel brown. Her hair was red and wavy. Emma spoke up. "When we colonized the moon we infused the atmosphere with oxygen." She looked up to the stars. "Plus, where else are we going to get a better view of the Earth?"

I took my helmet off as well. "You've got a point Emma." Emma looked at me with worried eyes. "Michael... we need to be very careful. Who knows what could be waiting for us." "I'm always prepared." I replied.

I reached for my Thorn to make sure it was locked and loaded. Emma jumped back. "Where did you get that thing?" She couldn't take her eyes off The Thorn. "I actually got it from the summoning pits believe it or not. I was looking for hive weaponry when I came across the weapons of sorrow. Then, I went in search of the Thorn." Emma pulled out her own hand cannon, The Last Word.

I understood why she was hesitant about me using the thorn. The two weapons have a bloody history together. I reassured her, "don't worry Emma, I've got it under control." "I hope you do Michael." Emma put on her helmet, summoned her own sparrow, and headed for the summoning pits. I did the same.

As the air rushed past me I couldn't help but think about all the events that have happened. Maybe I had missed something. No, the wizard was dead and the battle was won. I do wonder why the speaker asked me to leave the room though. Why was the speaker acting so strange? No matter, I have more important things to worry about than the speaker. A large rock whizzed awfully close to me. "Whoa, I better focus on the terrain in front of-" my thoughts were interrupted. There was another rock and I was heading straight for it. I did a quick lateral movement on my sparrow to narrowly miss the rock. "Focus" I said out loud. "Focus."

Before long I came upon a missive structure bearing hive symbols. Emma stood at the base of it. She seemed hesitant. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah," Emma replied. "I've just got bad memories in this place." Emma was very stiff. "Don't worry Emma, we're going to be in and out." With that we entered the massive hive structure.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Destiny

Emma and I made our way past a massive chamber. There was little light. Only 3 torches lit up the place. As I was walking, my foot hit something. I looked down and jumped back. They were bones. "Darn hive and their creepy decorations". Emma stayed silent. We made our way out of the chamber where we found Mace waiting for us. "About time you jokers showed up." You could see the remains of dead hive all around him. "Did you do this Mace?" I asked. Mace grunted and moved on. He took point, Emma followed, and I trailed last.

We entered a narrow corridor. Emma began to breathe heavily. "Mace do you know where you're going?" "Quiet warlock. Cayde-6 said go down the summoning pits didn't he?" the corridor was very compact. I could barely move through it. "It's really dark in here." Said Emma. "What if we step on a trap?" "Don't be ridiculous." answered Mace, "Who would booby trap their own-" The floor opened up underneath us.

I couldn't tell how far we fell, but it felt like at least 2 floors. I was able to blink safely to the ground and Emma landed almost weight less on the floor. Mace fell hard. He exhausted his glide mid-air. A loud thud echoed throughout what seemed like a large room. It was pitch black. I couldn't see my own two hands in front of me. As soon as we landed my mini-map lit up red all around. Emma whispered in a panicked tone "No, this can't be happening again... ghost give me some light here."

Her ghost turned on a light. I turned around to face Emma. "Everyone okay?" I asked. Mace answered me first. "We won't be for long. There's something down here with us." Emma turned around along with her light. The light revealed something, but it was unclear what it was. She looked up and right in front of her stood a massive hive knight. "Emma!" I screamed. The knight swung his sword straight up and hit Emma dead on. Her ghost was also hit by the sword and it fell to the ground. The light from her ghost faded away and soon the room was pitch black again.

I heard Mace reach for his weapon. "Ghost light up my way." Mace's ghost lit up. The hive were all around us. The knight that hit Emma stared straight at me. "Good luck Warlock" said Mace as the hive rushed right at us. I reached for The Thorn and shot the knight right on his head. The knight only staggered. "Ghost, shine some light as well!" My own ghost lit up and the knight raised his sword to strike me. I was able to blink away in time but soon thralls surrounded me.

I saw a light and the constant muzzle flash of a rifle not too far away. I need to group up with Mace if I have any sort of chance. I jumped up and blinked towards the light. Now, rounds from the weapons of acolytes began flying throughout the chamber. I fired my Thorn into the crowd of thralls around me. The scream of thralls only attracted more attention. The giant knight with the sword began chasing me. I finally found Mace. The barrel of his weapon was smoking. He was swinging his bayonet and hitting whatever came close to him.

"Nice weapon" I said breathing heavy. "Well, my Monte Carlo never lets me down." "Watch the left!" I yelled. "Mace, you cover that side and I'll watch your back!" Mace turned around and fired a stream of bullets into the horde of hive. I stood back-to-back with Mace and fired at the endless waves of hive that rushed us. I could hear the constant _RATATTATTATTAT_ of Mace's Monte Carlo. My Thorn sounded very deep and menacing every time I fired. "Mace!" I yelled over the sound of gunfire. "We need to find Emma!" "I'll distract the hive while you search for her!" replied Mace. "No Mace don't be crazy!" Without a word Mace ran into the massive gathering of hive. I stopped firing and ordered my ghost to turn off his light. Mace began shooting his weapon wildly creating a distraction. The hive started to focus on Mace and soon, I was all alone.

I looked back and saw constant gunfire in the distance. I searched the general direction of where Emma was launched to by the knight. "C'mon Emma, where are you..." I didn't want to risk turning on the light. The hive might find me again. "Michael…. please tell me that's you" "Emma? Where are you?" Something grabbed my hand. I turned around. It was Emma. I couldn't see her very well since the room was pitch black, well except for the gunfire and explosions that periodically sparked some light. "Michael I'm sorry. We're doomed down here." I knelt down. Through the flashes of light I could see that Emma's plate armor and her helmet were cracked. She was bleeding. "We're going to get out of here Emma, don't worry." "Michael," her voice was very sympathetic and emotional, " I should tell you why I hesitated to come down here. I used to be a part of a fireteam. We were sent to eliminate a Hive ogre that was becoming a major threat. We ended up down here. Surrounded. Trapped. I was the only one that made it out. I left all of my friends behind to die..." Although Emma still had her helmet on I could hear that she was crying. "Emma I'm so sorry, but we are not going to die here. I won't let you end up here. I'm going to get you out of here."

Heavy footsteps approached. I turned around. I hid with Emma. "Shh don't say anything." I looked into the darkness. I couldn't see anything. The footsteps got closer. Then they stopped. I waited motionless. A flash from a grenade lit up the room for a brief second. Right in front of me was the immense hive knight with his sword raised. "No!" I kneeled in front of Emma and crossed my arms. The sword slammed into my arms. The sword was breaking my armor, but if I let go then the sword would hit Emma. I felt the sword pierce my armor and cutting my arms. I guided the sword and let the it hit my shoulder. The immense blade was cracking my body armor. This is it. It's over. _BAM_. The knight turned into ash along with its sword. Mace stood right behind it with a smoking shotgun. Without hesitation he placed down his ward of dawn. He fell to his knees. "There's a door on the other side of this place. I couldn't open it, it has Hive scriptures on it." "That's a hive door. It will only open for Ascendant Hive." I said.

Mace looked at Emma. "Is she okay?" "She's Hurt badly. The door is our only chance to get out of here. Where is it?" Mace pointed directly from where he came from. "It's dead ahead, but there's too many hive in between." Constant fire hit the ward of dawn. "I'll clear a path but the hive will converge on us. I will need covering fire." I looked at Mace. "Covering fire I can do" said Mace.

I stood up. Blood was running down my arms and my torso. I took a deep breath. Through the ward of dawn I could see hive waiting to gun us down. I jumped and blinked outside the ward of dawn. The world around me slowed down once more. I took a deep breath. I let the full power of the void stir within me. I moved both of my hands together. I could feel the void concentrating within my palms. The energy raged within my palms. I moved my hands to the right side of my body. I focused all of the energy I had. The void was no longer controllable. I pushed both my hands forward then swung my left hand across my body. The Nova Bomb split into three projectiles. It was three times as devastating. The three nova bombs demolished the hive. A clear path emerged to the door that would become our escape. The world returned to its normal state and I came back down to the ground. Everything happened in a matter of seconds.

Without hesitation, I returned to the ward of dawn and carried Emma in my arms. "Go!" I yelled. I sprinted for the door. Mace stopped any hive from cutting off our escape with his Monte Carlo. I kept running. I didn't look back. I ran as fast as I could, but it was all in vain. The door could only be opened by the Ascendant hive. "No! No, no, no!" I kicked the door. I looked down in defeat. This place will become our tomb. Mace arrived at the door. "Well? Will it open?" I shook my head. Mace's posture fell. He knew we were doomed. "I'm out of ammunition." There was nothing left to do. Mace grabbed my shoulder. "It was an honor Michael." Mace turned around, he readied his bayonet on his Monte Carlo.

I looked down at Emma. "I'm sorry Emma. I couldn't get you out of here." Emma gathered her strength and stood up. "I'd rather die here with you than live without you" Emma struggled to stay on her feet. I put my arms around her waist and she put her arms around my neck. She removed my helmet then she took off hers. "Michael I... I love you." I closed my eyes. I leaned towards her until I met her lips with my own. I was giving her one of my final breaths, and she was giving me hers. I pulled back. "It's not over yet Emma." I set her down by the massive door that would became our death. "My cannon," said Emma, "Hand it to me." I gave her The Last Word and took one final look at her face. She put her helmet back on.

I joined Mace to where he was standing and put on my helmet. I could feel blood running down my body. Pain started to intensify all throughout my body. I reached for my Thorn. "Well Mace, you ready?" "As ready as I'll ever be." The hive had regrouped. Their blood curling screams echoed in the dark. Waves of glowing green eyes stormed our position. I could hear the shots from The Last Word right behind me. I raised my weapon and pulled the trigger. 8. I aimed my weapon at another pair of green glowing eyes. I pulled the trigger. 7. There were so many. I fired to as many glowing green eyes as I could. 6,5,4. The hive had reached our position. Mace slashed at the enemy with his bayonet. I fired at whichever hive soldiers came too close. 3,2,1,0. I was out of ammunition. I looked back to Emma. She no longer had any strength to raise her weapon. Fortunately, the hive were focused on Mace and me. I wouldn't have to see her die. The hive overwhelmed us. It was over.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The New Hive Power

Thralls began clawing at me. Acolytes began firing at me. My mind began to swirl with thoughts. I let the tower down, I let the light down, and I let my fire team down. Anger began to rise through me. I felt a power I've never felt before. A loud, sharp clanking nose pierced the noise of battle. The large door that blocked our way now glowed green. 3 runes on the metal door began to rotate. The door slowly creaked open. "Run for the door!" I pushed thralls off of me and ran for the door. I could see mace right next to me. All the anger I felt faded away. The door began to close. "Hurry!" Mace yelled. I saw Emma crawl through the door. Our window of escape was closing quickly. Mace made it to the door before I did and he slid through. I made it to the door but the space was very narrow. I tried to squeeze through. I was about halfway through when the door began squeezing my body. I barely made it through.

We were in another pitch black room. "Ghost, light please" my ghost lit up and revealed the room. It looked like a ritual sight. "This must be it" said Mace. I looked around for Emma. I found her by the door. "Are you ok Emma?" She replied. "Don't know how long I'm going to last." "Don't worry Emma" I said, " we made it to the ritual sight. It won't be long now" I continued looking around. There was another door that looked like it led out of the room. There was also a large metal statue. It looked like a wizard. Right under it was an altar.

"Michael," said Mace, "The speaker gave us a bomb that we could use to level this whole room. I suggest we use it." "Yeah, good idea." I replied. Mace materialized a square and black item. It had buttons on one side of it. "Michael, place this bomb on the altar and set it for 5 minutes. I'm going to have a look around." I grabbed the bomb and placed it on the altar. I hit a button and red numbers came on. I set the time for 5 minutes. I took a step back and looked back at the statue. It looked awfully familiar to the one we killed in the Twilight Gap.

 _SHNK_! A cold steel pierced my body. I looked down and saw the end of a bayonet. Mace's bayonet. He pulled back his bayonet out of my torso. He stabbed me right below my heart. I fell to my knees. "No!" I heard Emma scream. "Why did you do that Mace?" "You know what the Speaker told us Emma." Said Mace in a frustrated voice. Then, Mace destroyed my ghost. "We had to kill Michael because the wizard we thought we killed at the Twilight Gap actually infused itself inside of him." "No! We could have saved him!" Emma began to lose the strength in her voice. "Emma! Listen! The wizard IS Michael! It's just trying to play us. We have to leave, now." Mace picked up Emma and escaped through a second door that was in the room. "Michael... Michael" I heard Emma's voice ever so faintly until I could hear it no more.

Blood was rushing down my torso. I feel to the ground. I couldn't move. A small pool of blood began to gather under me. I could feel the warmth leaving my body. My mind once again swirled with thoughts. I laughed a little. I closed my eyes. A flashback took me back to when we killed the wizard. It died with one shot. No wonder it died so easily. It never wanted to remain alive. It wanted to take over my light. Then, the speaker came into my thoughts. The speaker could see the darkness that was within me. When he asked me to step out of his chamber he told Emma and Mace to kill me. Traitor. He asked for my own fire team to betray me, and they did. I opened my eyes. I lay there on the floor. The room began to spin. That's probably why the door opened. It sensed the wizard that burrowed its way into my light. Anger rose through me. I remembered my vision. I heard the dark voice of the wizard once more. "The light will betray you." I chuckled. I know what he meant know. This was the hive's plan all along.

Anger spread throughout me. Revenge. I need revenge. I felt a dark power surrounding my body. Revenge. My wounds began to close with pure bone. Revenge. My armor became dark and impure. Revenge. I stood up. With a wizard like voice I yelled "I will have my revenge!" I looked down at my Thorn. It was glowing more than ever. It looked hungry. It could sense my darkness, and it was feeding off of it. The massive doors that led us into the chamber opened up once again. I stepped out. Before me were hundreds of hive. They all bowed down to me. I am powerful now. I will have my revenge. I held up my hands. Instead of void energy coursing through my veins, there was only darkness. I looked back into the room in which I came from. I held my palm out into the room. A dark energy came protruding out. The energy extended into the room. It encircled the bomb and brought it to me. I held the bomb in my hands. The timer read 2:23 and counting. Vengeance surged through me. I crushed the bomb with my bare hands and threw it on the ground. It's time to exact my revenge.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Revenge

My ship flew through space. The only thoughts in my head were about revenge. I looked behind me. An armada of hive ships followed close behind. I looked at my hands. The cracks in my armor revealed green light. I felt so strange. What have I become? It matters not. I have come for revenge and I will have it.

The armada of hive ships vanished in the air as we approached the last city of Earth. I needed a place to start the attack. Heh. I smiled. Why not attack the place that started this all? My lone ship entered the Twilight Gap. I could see guardians patrolling the area. I also saw maintenance crews trying to repair the damage that occurred during the second battle of the Twilight Gap. I set my ship to hover right above the ridge where I once stood as a guardian. I jumped out of my ship and landed on the ridge.

I walked forward slowly. I stopped right before the ridge ended. I could overlook everything. Teams of guardians were searching for any survivors from the previous battle. Guardians saw me but didn't suspect anything. That is until I saw the bayonet that was used to betray me. It was Mace. He stopped dead in his tracks. He saw me too. He backed away slowly. He knew I was here to kill him. He warned the guardians around him. They stepped in front of him as if to protect him from me. "Coward!" I yelled!

As the word left my mouth dozens of portals opened up in the sky. Hive ships came screaming through the portals, their cannons rained hell on guardians trapped in the open. Before their ghosts could revive them I flooded the entire area in dark energy. Hundreds of hive landed onto the Twilight Gap and rushed the guardians. I jumped from the ridge onto the level that Mace was on. All around me guardians were fighting for their lives. They were outnumbered 1 to 15. To my right a guardian was gunning down thralls and acolytes. Without stopping or turning around I raised my Thorn and fired it right into the guardian's head. He was dead before he even hit the ground, my Thorn devoured all of the guardian's light. It seemed to be firing shots of pure darkness.

I kept on walking towards Mace. All around me explosions went off and bullets flew by. I didn't flinch. I kept my eyes locked on Mace. He saw me coming for him. He began retreating while beating hive away from him. A guardian blocked my path and emptied his assault rifle into me. I stopped. I looked down at the guardian. It was a new titan recently raised from the dead. I pushed him down. He struggled to get back up. I put my boot on his chest and pinned him down. He gripped my boot to try to get it off. I aimed my Thorn right at his head and pulled the trigger. I didn't even hesitate. The titan's arms dropped dead to his sides. I looked back up. I couldn't find Mace. That little weasel.

I walked to where I saw Mace last. I ignored the battle that was raging on around me. "MACE!" An evil and dark voice projected across the battle. I went in search of Mace. I rounded a corner and I was met with a sharp bayonet stabbed into me. I found him once more. I pulled his weapon out of my body and threw it violently to the wall. Mace took a few steps back, slowly, cautiously wondering what sort of dark creature his friend has become. I grabbed him by the throat. Mace instinctively grabbed my arm to try to break himself free. I laughed right in his face. "You will pay for what you have done Mace". With my free hand I grabbed his arm and clenched it as tight as I could. Metal began to creak and crack. I picked him up by his throat and threw him as far as I could. Mace landed hard and slid at least 5 feet. He struggled to get back on his feet.

As I approached him once more the speakers around the battlefield came on. It was commander Zavala with an urgent voice. "Guardians this is Zavala, we are being overwhelmed by a new force in the Twilight Gap. All guardians retreat back to the tower, we will make our stand there." So they're retreating? Good. I gave up chasing Mace and held my ground. I saw the remaining guardians scatter back to the tower. This is exactly what I wanted. I looked up at the sky to see the traveler. His glow now seemed so dim. It was dying. "An acceptable casualty" I said to myself.

I ordered the hive to abandon their chase and form up once more. Hive soldiers organized into ranks. Thralls took up The front lines, acolytes followed the thralls, knight and wizards took up the rear. It was time to take my revenge. The march to the tower began with me leading the hive assault. On our way to the tower we destroyed everything that came in our path. I could see ships of civilians fleeing the last city. We left a trail of fire and destruction in our wake. After not too long of a march, the tower was in my sights. It looked so massive looking at it down from the city. We were going to have to scale the wall in order to reach the top.

I put my hand forward and opened up my palm. The army of hive behind me marched forward to the massive wall that would get us to the tower. They began to climb, the claws of the hive began digging into the metal and they made their way up. Before we were detected I ordered a distraction force to attack the tower. I could hear bullets firing and I could see rounds from the hive flying out into the distance. I could see hive ships hovering over the tower dropping off troops to distract the enemy.

"Perfect" I said looking at hundreds of hive swarming the walls that led to the city. I focused the dark energy within me. I bent my arms pulling the energy inside my body upwards. I began to levitate. So much power. I moved my hands upwards and I began to slowly move up the wall. Thralls were able to scale the wall and begin attacking the guardian's defenses from the back. I made it over the wall and set my feet back on the ground. As I slowly walked forward hive ran past me to attack the lines of guardians. I scanned the remaining guardians in order to find Mace. Through all the smoke and bullets I found him. He was heading into the hall of guardians with Emma. Emma. My mind flashed back. What's going to happen to Emma? A part of me wanted to stop this. The rest of me wanted to fight until the very end.

I made my way to the hall of guardians. The hive was swarming all around me. The cries of guardians could be heard all across the battle field. I could see Zavala, Ikora and Cayde engaged in the battle. They were distracted with the hive. To think this place once used to be my home. To think those people used to be my mentors. I had to focus on revenge. It was the only way to continue honing my power. I continued marching into the hall of guardians as the battle raged on. The tower was now up in flames. I stepped into the hall of guardians alone. It was empty. I continued towards the Vanguard room. At the very end of the room stood the Speaker, Mace, Emma, and other wounded or defenseless guardians who were not able to evacuate the tower. Emma was still wounded badly. She could barely stand. Mace held his arm. It seems I had crushed it to pieces. The Speaker stepped forward. "Guardian what has become of you? You cannot let the darkness come over you! You must fight it!" "No," I answered, "you wanted me dead, yet here I am. You, one of the people I trusted the most, betrayed me." "Guardian please understand, I was only trying to save the light." Said the Speaker in a sympathetic voice. "And in an effort to keep the light safe, you have destroyed it. I will have my revenge." "Well," the speaker spoke again with a hopeless tone, "If you have come for revenge then it seems the dark has already corrupted you beyond salvation." I raised my Thorn and fired directly at the Speaker's chest. He hit the floor lifeless. Underneath my helmet I smiled. I looked at Mace and pointed my weapon towards him. "No!" Yelled Emma. She stood right in front of Mace. My Thorn was now pointing at Emma. "Don't do this Michael! You're not like them! You aren't them!" "Emma, you saw the light betray me. You saw my friend stab me in the back. He must pay." "Michael please," Emma took off her helmet. "Don't do this" There were tears streaming down her face. My hand began to shake. Mace stayed quiet. He knew that if he would say anything he would only make things worse. I will have my revenge but at what cost? I couldn't hurt Emma. It broke my heart seeing Emma cry. "If you're going to kill us Michael then do it, but I'm not going to fight you." She drew her weapon and tossed it on the floor in front of me.

I looked down and closed my eyes. I heard a voice in my head. "Do it." It said. "You've waited so long for your revenge, and now, you have the chance to take it." I couldn't do it. I was being torn apart on the inside. The darkness inside of me wanted me to pull the trigger, but I couldn't do it. Because of Emma, there was still a little bit of light still in my heart. My mind was a raging storm. Do it. Don't do it. Memories flooded my head, memories of battle, friendship, betrayal, and of my love for Emma. I tensed up. I could feel my hand shaking slightly. I remembered my brightest memory, the kiss with Emma. Then, with that final thought in my head, I pulled the trigger.

I opened my eyes and looked up. The bullet from my Thorn pierced through both of them. Mace hit the wall with his back and slowly slid down dead. Emma fell to her knees gasping for air. With her dying breath she said, "Michael, no matter what you would've done, I would have never stopped loving you. Remember that, remember how much I loved you." She reached her arm out to me, but she fell to the ground lifeless. I couldn't bear to see Emma. I turned around and returned back to the battle. When I exited the hall of guardians there were only a few guardians remaining. They were in a group fighting for their lives. Zavala, Ikora, Cayde and Lord Shaxx were among the few that remained. Before long, the hive swarm surrounded and overwhelmed the last of them. I watched them get clawed down.

I looked down at my Thorn. It was overflowing with dark energy. I stood on top of ash. I looked down and saw the lifeless bodies of guardians scattered throughout the scorched floor. I turned around and to my side were the hive. "You and I are not that different." The voice belonged to the wizard who was in my head." You are a dead thing made by a dead power. All you will ever do is kill" The vision I had... I was living it. " You may never betray the light, but the light will betray you." I looked at my hands. "What have I done?" Above us the traveler began to fall apart. The darkness had won, and I helped it. "What have I done?" It was too late. I destroyed the light, I destroyed the only home I remember, I killed my closest friends, I killed my only love. I threw my Thorn in disgust. "It's too late," the voice of the wizard came back into my head. " You are the new hive power.


End file.
